Word: whitlam
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...their three-year mandates -the people were being called on to elect a national government. Furthermore, the electorate was doubtful whether the complex economic problems on which the campaign centered could be quickly solved by either of the major candidates, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and his immediate predecessor, Gough Whitlam...
...biggest loser by far was Whitlam, 61, the burly, blunt-spoken lawyer who in 1972 engineered Labor's first victory in 23 years and as Prime Minister managed to install many of the fixtures of welfare-state-ism in Australia, notably its first national health service. As soon as Labor's massive defeat became obvious, Whitlam announced that he would step down as party leader, thus leaving his former treasurer, Bill Hayden, 44, as his most likely successor. By contrast, the results were a minor victory for the Democrats' Don Chipp, 52, a Liberal renegade whose centrist...
There was an abundance of all three in the closely fought campaign. The primary issues were unemployment, which last week reached a 45-year high of 5.8%, and inflation, which ballooned to 16.9% annually during Whitlam's prime ministership and still grinds on at the painful rate of 9%. Most economists expect increases in the cost of living to keep moderating somewhat, but they forecast still higher unemployment next year. Fraser evidently agreed with those general estimates; most political observers conclude that he called the election a year early to avoid having to go to the voters in somewhat...
...Whitlam promised to combat joblessness with a $550 million public spending program of capital-works projects, local job training and an employer subsidy for each new worker hired before March 1. Fraser relied heavily for voter appeal on an income tax cut scheduled to take effect in February; in the last days of campaigning, he even set up a nationwide "dial-your-tax-cut" gimmick that enabled telephone callers to inquire about their individual bonanzas. As for unemployment, Fraser called Whitlam's political spending plan inflationary, insisting the Liberals had "the real answer": programs aimed at stimulating private investment...
...brass band struck up Waltzing Matilda, and the Odd Couple strode to the dais in Melbourne's Exhibition Building. Two former Australian Prime Ministers of opposing parties, Sir John Gorton (Liberal, 1968-71) and Gough Whitlam (Labor, 1972-75), were on the same political platform...